10 Hardcore DIY Halloween Projects

Sure, you could build a turducken catapult for Thanksgiving or drown your neighborhood in lights with the elaborate Christmas display around your house. For hardcore DIYers, though, there's no holiday like Halloween, and this year we're featuring 10 great project ideas from our friends at Instructables. (For each project, you can follow the link for the full step-by-step instructions.) Time's a-wasting, ghouls. Get building.

Aliens Power Loader

Aliens Power Loader

There's no better way to defend yourself from vicious extraterrestrials or any other foes you encounter on Halloween than by donning the power loader Sigourney Weaver made famous in Aliens. Inspired by the battle scene between Weaver's character Ripley and the alien queen, Instructables user Alexthemoviegeek built this full-size loader in just two weeks. His loader is built primarily of foamcore and is the same scale, size, color, and shape as the version featured in James Cameron's movie.

Tumbler Batmobile

Tumbler Batmobile

For Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan created a Batmobile that matches his gritty vision of the Batman universe. The Tumbler that Christian Bale drives through the two films is more a futuristic tank than the sleek, Bond-car-like rides seen in the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher Batman movies, and its mad design made it one of PM's favorite movie cars. If you're going as the Dark Knight this Halloween, nothing completes the effect like building your own prop version of this aggressive Batmobile.

Jerry Jodioski built this version for Instructables to complete his ambitious Halloween display. Though he's not a carpenter and used only basic tools, he says, he was able to build a Tumbler that looks just like the movie's for only $600—thanks to using a lot of reclaimed and scrap material.